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  • Chinnor snatch win over stubborn adversaries

    IN a true ‘nip and tuck’ match, Chinnor RFC, with the last play of the match, snatched victory from Old Elthamians by 25-22, on Saturday (Nov 8).

    chinnorRFC (400x289)The match was affected by both wind and rain with the visitors from Chislehurst in Kent benefiting from a strong wind at their backs during the first half. The first score of the match went to Chinnor with Alfie To’oala touching down from a driven penalty lineout. Keohane’s conversion put the home side 7-0 ahead on 15 minutes. Just three minutes later, Old E’s Bressons went blind from a scrum and slipped the ball to Renford Bennett, who strolled through the Chinnor defence for a 7-5 score. The Kentish men then went into the lead when the lively Cullen charged down a Chinnor kick and was first to the ball as it crossed the Chinnor line. White converted to put the visitors 12-7 ahead on 22 minutes.

    The driving rain slowed the game down for a while. Old Elthamian’s Sullivan was yellow carded on 30 minutes for slapping the ball away as Chinnor threatened. Just three minutes from half-time, Chinnor drew level 12-12 with another driven lineout, this time Hayes being the last man on the ball.

    The second half started badly for Chinnor when scrum half Frank Jones was yellow carded for coming in at the side. Old E’s White slotted the resulting penalty to put the visitors 15-12 ahead. Keohane, for Chinnor, squared the scores again with a penalty goal on 50 minutes, 15-15.

     Chinnor re-took the lead with a try from To’oala at the rear of a rolling maul. Keohane’s conversion put the home side 22-15 ahead on 63 minutes. Daring play from the visitors was rewarded with a try from Cullen, converted by White. Old Elthamians eschewed an easy penalty kick in front of the posts for a scrum. After working the ball down the blindside, it was zipped across the open field to Cullen to bag his second try of the day and to tie the scores again.

    With a few minutes to go, Chinnor upped the pace and spent the last two minutes on the visitors’ line desperately looking for a winning score. Old E’s Nelmes succumbed to pressure to allow Keohane the easiest of penalty kicks in front of the posts to snatch a 25-22 lead as the referee blew for no side.

    SOURCE – Contributed by Dave Winpenny

  • Six in a row for Thame United

    THAME United ground-out their third consecutive 2-1 victory at Shrivenham on Saturday,November 8, to extend their winning run in the Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division to six matches.

    thame_united_logoOn a pitch that was sodden, United played up the pronounced slope in the first half and were, for the opening exchanges, on the back foot as the home side pressed. Indeed, they created one of their best chances on three minutes, only for the ball to be skewed wide from in front of goal. The first chance for United came on ten minutes when good interplay between the returning Marcus Mealing and Dan West saw an effort from the latter well saved by Clark in the home goal, before a goalmouth scramble ensued. Five minutes later a Mealing header from a Matt Hall cross was well saved by Clark.

    The opening goal arrived on 26 minutes when a Luke Ricketts effort went wide for a corner, which Dan Jones floated in from the left, only for West to be pushed to the ground. Referee, Neil Evans, had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and West brushed himself off to hit a powerful spot kick giving the keeper no chance. For the remainder of the half there was little goal mouth action until the last kick of the half when United failed to clear their lines and Robertson finished for the home side.

    United came out the stronger of the two teams in the second half and, following a couple of chances, what turned out to be the winning goal arrived on 51 minutes. West was fouled on the edge of the penalty area, with Dan Jones hitting the free kick low, only to see his effort come back off the post. Fortunately for United a number of players had followed the ball in to the area and Luke Ricketts was the first to react to finish from close range.

    The remainder of the game followed a similar pattern to the first half, with few goal scoring opportunities for either side. That was until the last few minutes of the game when Cockerill was twice called in to action, pulling off good saves in both instance.

    The win consolidates United’s fifth place league position before the Oxfordshire Senior Cup match next weekend against North Leigh United.

    United: Cockerill, Evans, Hall, Hercules, Burrows (Hodgkins), Lynch, Jones, Morris, West, Mealing, Ricketts

  • Supermarket’s bid to build in Thame

    TESCO has announced that it wants to build a supermarket, an eight-pump petrol station, new offices and car parking, on the edge of Thame.

    TescoView 03 (400x200)

    Tesco today confirmed that it would like to redevelop the Howland Road site it has owned since 1996, which is currently leased to DAF Trucks and also occupied by Kubota, R E Foster, Lucy Electric, M40 Cars and GMQ. The supermarket giant claims that such a development would boost the local economy by providing around 200 jobs for local people.

    Jack Pearson, Tesco’s Corporate Affairs Manager, said: “We have been keen to open a supermarket in Thame for many years and think that a store would be popular.”

    A public Consultation will be carried out before a formal planning application is submitted, beginning with an exhibition at the Barns Centre, Thame, on Novemer 28 and 29.

    Back in 1994 and then again in 1999, Tesco failed attempts to gain planning permission for an out-of-town store on the same site, and then turned its interest to the Cattlemarket site where it was equally unsuccessful in 2004/5.

    As before, Tesco’s main claim is that their supermarket will prevent money being drained away to supermarkets in other towns. In 1994, the then Thame Chamber of Commerce joined the ‘Save the Heart of Thame’ campaign to fight the proposals, its Chairman claiming that there were already five major supermarkets within 15 miles of the town, and that the chamber did not want to spoil the character of Thame.

    seans_choice_crendon_bedsHe said the local authority’s independent consultants, at the time, Hillier Parker, has estimated that a Tesco would take £10m out of the centre of Thame.

    Whether or not it will be fourth time lucky for Tesco, will depend largely on a proven need in an expanding town, and the provisions made for retail supermarkets in the Thame Neighbourhood Plan.

  • Today’s generation commemorates war dead

    Young_people_wreath_laying_Remembrance_Thame2014 (673x800) (337x400)A FLY past by two army helicopters low over Thame Memorial Gardens yesterday, brought a touch of the reality of modern warfare, to the hundreds gathered, gazing sky-ward during the annual Remembrance Day service. 

    A birds-eye-view of Sunday's crowd at the Thame Remembrance service
    A birds-eye-view of Sunday’s crowd at the Thame Remembrance service. Image by Nick White, Thame

    Representatives from the Town Council, the District and County  councils, Guides, Brownies, Scouts, the Fire Service, Showmen’s Guild, The Thame Twinning Association and many other community groups were represented, many  laying wreaths on the steps of the Thame War Memorial. The following is a full list of wreaths laid:

    Town Mayor – on behalf of the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire for Her Magesty the Queen, Royal Air Force – RAF Halton, Royal British Legion, Royal Naval Association (Thame Branch), Merchant Navy, Polish Community, Air Training Corps, Thames Valley Police, Thame Fire & Rescue Service, St. John Ambulance, Rotary Club of Thame, Thame & District Round Table, The Lions Club of Thame, Thame Masonic Lodge, Women’s Institute, Thame Townswomen’s Guild, Thame Inner Wheel, Thame & District Twinning Association, Thame Market Traders, Lord Williams’s School Girlguiding Thame District 1, The Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain, Corner Stone Church, Christchurch, Stones Close Allotments, Co-op Funeral Care, Thame Concert Band, St Joseph’s Church, Thame, Thame Remembers, Royal Air Forces Association (Oxford & District), 594 (Thame) Squadron, South Oxfordshire District Council, Oxford County Council, Fleet Air Arm, Oxfordshire Army Cadet Force (Thame Detachment), Thame Scout Group, St Mary’s Church and Barley Hill Church.

    A minute’s silence, broken only by a distant barking dog and a restless toddler, was heralded by the bugle call, Last Post, played by Richard Van Ryne, who will also be playing outside the Town Hall on Tuesday morning (11/11) at 11am, for a collective minute’s silence.

    seans_choice_crendon_bedsPhotographs from the event can be viewed here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/thamenews/sets/72157649206080921/

  • Thame Remembers cross delivered to Tanzania

    THE Thame Rembembers project, which aims to deliver a special, Thame cross to the grave of everyone named on the Thame Memorial, wherever it may be in the world, has chalked up another, particularly satisfying success, as reported in the project’s latest newsletter. Thame_Remembers_Oct 2014

    Rev Hugh Prentice delivering the Thame Remembers cross to the grave of Warrant Officer Arthur Henry Sutton, of Thame
    Rev Hugh Prentice delivering the Thame Remembers cross to the grave of Warrant Officer Arthur Henry Sutton, of Thame

    Perhaps the greatest challenge facing the Thame Remembers project was to deliver a cross to the grave of Warrant Officer, AH Sutton, who is named on the war memorial in Thame. The difficulty was that he was buried in Dodoma Cemetary, 500km up country in a remote part of Tanzania. By a fortunate coincidence, just three months into the project, the group leading the project was approached by a retired Australian missionary priest, Rev Hugh Prentice, who had been living in Thame during an extended visit to the UK, and was then returning to Australia and visiting some old haunts on his way. It so happened that he had previously been a missionary in Dodoma, was already acquainted with the cemetery, and was able to place the Thame Remembers Cross at the grave on October 29.

    The man himself, 1762 Warrant Officer Arthur Henry Sutton, East African Transport Corps, died in Tanzania on Tuesday, June 19, 1917, age 31. Dodoma, where he is buried, is the administrative capital of Tanzania. It is situated in the centre of the country some 495 kilometres west of Dar Es Salaam, on the road via Morogoro. Dodoma was occupied by South African troops on July,29, 1916, and a casualty clearing station was opened from which burials were made in Dodoma Cemetery, which contains 121 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, 11 of which are unidentified, and 31 Second World War burials.

    At the outbreak of the First World War, Tanzania was the core of German East Africa. From the invasion of April 1915, Commonwealth forces fought a protracted and difficult campaign against a relatively small but highly skilled German force under the command of General von Lettow-Vorbeck. When the Germans finally surrendered on November 23, 1918, twelve days after the European armistice, their numbers had been reduced to 155 European and 1,168 African troops.

  • NEW DATE: Casting for comedy with Thame Players

    THAME Players, Thame’s dedicated theatre, is looking for people interested in ‘treading the boards’ to audition for its first production of 2015, Alan Ayckbourn’s How the Other Half Loves. The play is a classic Ayckbourn comedy, featuring three married couples whose lives and loves are intertwined, leading to confusion and misunderstanding with humorous outcomes.

    theatre_centenary (300x237) (300x237)The auditions are being held at The Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame on Wednesday, November 19, and Friday, November 21, at 7.30 pm. If you’d like to give it a try, contact Chris Parker, the play’s director, on 07831 696849 or at ChrisParker02@gmail.com, or simply turn up at the theatre on either night.

    Alan Ayckbourn
    Alan Ayckbourn

    There are also opportunities to work behind the scenes, helping backstage or with lighting and sound, so get in touch with Chris by phone or email if you can help.

  • Thame school opens its doors to prospective families

    THAME’S St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School opened its doors recently for prospective parents to see the school in action, and to meet the new Headteacher.

    Mr Paul Roberts, the new Head Teacher of St Joseph's Primary school, Thame
    Mr Paul Roberts, the new Head Teacher of St Joseph’s Primary school, Thame

    Spokesperson for the school, Rachel Fisher, said: “The afternoon was very busy with over 25 families visiting our school, in particular its new Reception class and playground area (Early Years Unit) which was completed for the 2013 academic year. Older children acted as tour guides taking families through the school to see the children learning a range of subjects.

    “Parents also had the chance to meet the new headteacher, Paul Roberts, who joined St Joseph’s from its Academy sister school, Our Lady’s in Cowley. Paul brings over 25 years experience in education to St Joseph’s.”

    seans_choice_crendon_beds“It’s been great getting to know the wonderful team here at St Joseph’s. I hope our visitors were able not only to see all our children enjoying their learning experiences but also to get a feel for our strong family atmosphere and ethos.,” added Paul. “Choosing a school for your child can feel quite daunting and a personal visit with a chance to speak to staff and pupils can really help.”

    Prospective parents can make an appointment to visit the school by calling 01844 214278 or emailing stjosephsthame@dbmac.org.uk

  • Muslim group’s walk benefits British Legion women

    MEMBERS of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community recently presented the Chairman of South Oxfordshire District Council, Ann Midwinter, with a cheque for her chosen charity, Royal British Legion Women’s Section.

    Chairman's Charity 2014 resized (400x267)The cheque for £500 was gratefully received and Councillor Midwinter, who is District Councillor for Thame South Ward, expressed her gratitude. She said: “It was fantastic to learn about their faith and the excellent work they have done in engaging local communities and helping others. I’m sure that the Royal British Legion Women’s Section will put the donation to excellent use.”

    The money was raised part of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s annual charity walk in June this year. As they were celebrating their centenary year, they aimed to help at least 100 national and local charities.

    For more information about the community, visit their website at http://www.loveforallhatredfornone.org/

    SOURCE: Press release

  • How does Thame Livestock Market impact your business?

    SOUTH Oxfordshire District Council has commissioned a survey relating to the Thame Livestock Market, and Thame4Business is asking that all retailers in Thame complete the survey, which will help SODC to consider the future of the site.

    cattlemarketThame4Business Co-ordinator, Sue Martin Downhill asks: “If you are Thame retailer,  please take a few minutes to download the pdf at http://www.racquets-fitness-centre.com/wp-content/uploads/manual/Economic%20Benefit%20Survey-%20Local%20Businesses.pdf

    seans_choice_crendon_beds“If you would print it, complete it and then drop it into Racquets Fitness Centre, behind the Cattle Market, or send it, that would be much appreciated. Alternatively, you could complete it and email it direct to vicky.phillips@bidwells.co.uk

    “Any questions should be directed to Vicky.”

  • Managing conflict in business – networking invitation

    HAPPY Healthy Conflict – is it possible?  This is the title of a presentation to be give by from Melanie Greene of Inspire Transformation, at November’s Late Breakfast business networking event.

    Melanie’s view is that some level of conflict is inevitable in life, whether it is due to differences of opinion, personality clashes or lack of rapport. However, ‘does it always have to be destructive?’ She askes. Is there a way of managing conflict which can make it a positive and constructive process?

    Melanie Greene is an Occupational Psychologist who works as a coach and trainer in a wide variety of businesses, specialising in communication issues in the workplace. She is writing her second book titled: Happy Healthy Conflict, and will share some of her ideas with Late Breakfast guests during her interactive talk.

    For more information about this event in Thame, and to register, visit: http://www.thelatebreakfast.co.uk/

    The Late Breakfast - Monthly networking
    The Late Breakfast – Monthly networking